Data modem

ABSTRACT

An improved data modem (IDM) and method includes a communication processor module, a mass storage module, a power converter module, and one or more DSP modules. The communication processor module utilizes commercial off-the-shelf components as well as electrically programmable logic devices (EPLD), which are programmed to provide a watchdog timer, programmable interrupt controller, flash page addressing, ISA bus decoder and controller, and various circuits and logic.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/142,875,filed May 13, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 09/736,273, filed Dec. 15, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a communication system in general, andmore particularly a system and method for a data modem capable ofpassing data between dissimilar communication platforms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A great number of tactical voice communication devices are now in theinventories of the military services of the United States and alliedcountries. It is not economically feasible to phase out the existingcommunication devices and replace them with more modern systems thathave no backward compatibility.

In addition to voice communication devices there also are datacommunication devices for passing targeting data between joint servicesair and ground weapon platforms for support of missions such as:Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD), Close Air Support (CAS),Forward Air Control (FAC), special forces operations, air combat, andcommand control. A SEAD mission may include creating penetrationcorridors through enemy air defenses using a combination of electronicand physical attack of enemy radars and missiles sites. A CAS missionmay include air action against hostile targets which are in closeproximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration ofeach air mission with the fire and movement of those forces, or actionagainst targets or objectives sufficiently near the supported force asto require detailed integration or coordination of the supporting unit.A FAC mission may include providing timely target data to fighters,preventing fratricide and assisting commanders to see the battlefieldfrom anywhere on the battlefield.

There are needs for interconnectivity with backward compatibility formyriad voice and data communication systems, and for integration withmodem digital communication systems. There is a desire for a data modemthat meets these needs as well as provides an open architecture so thatdesigns, repairs, upgrades can be performed with great ease and economicsavings. Such an open architecture allows the usage of many commercialoff-the-shelf hardware components, modules and software that arerelatively inexpensive and are readily available.

The data modem presents a multi-path approach to situational awarenessin a tactical environment. Such multi-path approach takes intoconsideration interfacing and integrating communication apparatuses thatuse 10/100 Base-T Ethernet (e.g. Tactical Internet), MIL-STD-1553Bcommunication port, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Synchronous Data LinkControl (SDLC), serial ports (e.g. RS-232, RS-422, and RS-423), CombatNet Radios (CNR), Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS),and HF communication equipment. The CNR is a suite of lightweight HF,VHF, and UHF radios that provide ground and air/ground/aircommunications and can be deployed as manpacks or in vehicles oraircrafts. The EPLRS provides secure, jam-resistant, near real-time datacommunications support. The Tactical Internet (TI) is a communicationinfrastructure comprising an integration of tactical radios, computers,routers, and supporting communications equipment providing voice anddata transport at various security classifications.

In addition to the task of interfacing and integrating various voice anddata systems, the data modem also needs to be housed in a singleruggedized compact field unit that is flight-ready and can withstandharsh environment and operating conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved datamodem (IDM) with an open architecture that strongly leverages commercialtechnologies to provide maximum flexibility in design at a minimum cost.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improveddata modem that includes a ruggedized housing, a backplane, a firstcommunication processor module (CPM1), an optional second communicationprocessor module (CPM2), a Mass Storage Module (MSM), at least oneDigital Signal Processing (DSP) module, and a Power Converter Module(PCM).

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide animproved data modem with interfaces to other communication and controldevices via 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, serial ports (such as RS-232C,RS-422, RS-423), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Synchronous Data LinkControl (SDLC), and MIL-STD-1553B.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a CPM utilizingan industry standard Central Processing Unit (CPU), such as an IntelPentium® processor, and standard BIOS for x86-based Personal Computer(PC), IDE Interface, IEEE-1394, and JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) port,wherein the JTAG port is an IEEE Standard 1149.1 port that allows thetesting of equipment, connected to the JTAG port, to identify componentson the board by reading the device identification register and tocontrol and monitor the device's outputs.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a CPM thatutilizes Erasable Programmable Logic Devices (EPLD) to provide variouscontrol circuits and logic.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a CPM whichcontains two Erasable Programmable Logic Devices (EPLD). A first EPLD iscustomized for operation as a Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) toprovide interrupt control functions such as those found in, for example,as an 8259 PIC chip made by Intel® or NEC®, an Industry-StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus decoder and controller, a multi-mode watchdogtimer with reset control, a MIL-STD-1553B controller and decoder,discrete Input/Outputs (I/O's), flash page register, and hardwareversion register. The second EPLD is programmed to provide glue-logicfor an IEEE-1394 Backplane Transceiver Logic (BTL) buffer control,various controls for serial communication controller chips, and bothgeneral purpose and programmable inverters for control of radio discretelogic such as Push to Talk (PTT), wherein the programmable inverters forthe PTT signals creates flexibility for the interfacing external radios.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an IDMwith the CPM and MSM modules that are hardware compatible with a JointCombat Information Terminal (JCIT) such that a JCIT Message Processorcould be replaced by the CPM and MSM combination of the presentinvention, wherein JCIT is a multi-band, multi-functional radio terminalwith programmable modulation and demodulation, information security(including transmission security, communications security, and computersecurity), link and message processing, and user interface capabilities.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an IDM with acombination of communication interfaces, including MIL-STD-1553B, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE-1394, Synchronous DataLink Control (SDLC), and a plurality of serial communication interfaces,preferably six, configurable as RS-232, RS-422 or RS-423. The serialcommunication interfaces are designed to interface to military and otherradios, including the EPLRS, High Frequency (HF) radios operating at3-30 MHz frequencies, Single Channel Ground to Air Radio System(SINCGARS), ARC-164, ARC-182, ARC-186, and ARC-210, and PSC-5.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an IDMwith modules that conform to Standard Electronic Module, Form Factor E(SEM-E), including Form Factor IEEE1101.4, and with a CPM module thatutilizes commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software components aswell as electrically programmable devices to efficiently andeconomically provide functional circuits and logic.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide and IDMthat is downwardly compatible with and replaces existing militaryhardware, including the Advance Target Handover System (ATHS), variousData Message Devices (DMD's), and the Tactical Communications InterfaceModule (TCIM) through communication ports or interfaces of the CPM andthe DSP module.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an IDM withsynchronous communication means that are configurable to effectsynchronous communication.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a serialcommunication controller in an IDM and to provide a synchronous port fixto the serial communication controller so as to configure the serialcommunication controller to effect synchronous communication capability,particularly for a serial communication controller operable in aclockless mode.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an IDM with meansto recover from a disk boot failure by providing a means forbootstrapping the IDM from a backup operating system.

It is still another object of the invention to provide boot strappingmeans to boot strap a CPM in an IDM from a boot kernel, or a backupoperating system, stored in a non-volatile memory in case of a disk bootfailure.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a CPM with meansfor resetting an IDM by using a watchdog timer and a software watchdogtickler or resetting function.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a CPMwith means for extending non-volatile memory addressing beyond a typical128K byte using a memory page register.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method forprogramming non-volatile memories in an x86-based communication systemhaving a JTAG port using an In-Circuit Emulator (ICE), wherein thenon-volatile memories are for storing a BIOS and a backup operatingsystem or boot kernel.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an IDMwith a method for executing a boot kernel stored in a non-volatilememory.

It is still yet another object of the invention to provide a method forprogramming a non-volatile memory in an x86-based CPM having a JTAG portusing an ICE with Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) and InternetProtocol (IP) addresses.

Additional advantages of the present invention, including structural andfunctional characteristics of the IDM and its components as well asterminology or nomenclatures used, will become readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein onlythe preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown anddescribed, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplatedfor carrying out the present invention. As will be realized, the presentinvention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its severaldetails are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, allwithout departing from the present invention. Accordingly, the drawingsand description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having thesame reference numerals designation represent like elements throughout,and wherein:

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a high-level diagram of the IDM of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates the external electrical interfaces ofthe IDM of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration ofthe IDM.

FIG. 3 illustrates a high-level diagram of a CPM interfaced with an ICEfor the purpose of programming flash memory and Serial EEPROM (SEEPROM).

FIG. 4 illustrates a high-level logical block diagram of the CPM.

FIG. 5 illustrates a mid-level diagram of the CPM.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary functional block diagram of a MSM.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state diagram of a watchdog timer of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a boot-strappingprocess under the watch of a multi-mode watchdog timer of the CPM.

FIG. 8B illustrates another exemplary flow diagram of the boot-strappingprocess of the CPM.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary hardware synchronous communication portfix.

FIG. 10A illustrates a readable/writable flash page register.

FIG. 10B illustrates a detailed block diagram of an 8-bit interruptcontroller in an embodiment of the IDM.

FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative embodiment design for interfacingflash memory to a south bridge (PIIX4®) chipset via EPLD1.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an IEEE-1394 Backplane TransceiverLogic buffer control.

FIG. 13A illustrates a method for recognizing the presence of anoptional CPM and chassis location.

FIG. 13B illustrate control signals for recognizing one or more CPMinserted in an IDM and a CPM inserted in a JCIT backplane.

FIG. 14 illustrates a high-level diagram of another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates the external electrical interfaces of anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of a clock multiplexer in anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates a detailed block diagram of an interrupt controllerin another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates a low level block diagram of a voltage regulatorfault latch.

FIG. 19 schematically illustrates a diagram of the local bus resetcontroller circuit.

FIG. 20 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a MSM Module inanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 schematically illustrates a detailed diagram of a power controlcircuit of the present invention.

FIG. 22 illustrates a high-level block diagram of the IOM module.

FIG. 23 illustrates a block diagram of a watchdog timer circuit.

FIG. 24 illustrates a high level diagram of a power control circuit.

FIG. 25 illustrates a high level diagram of a circuit to pre-initializea low side driver device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This present invention is a data modem device that exchanges databetween various military data/voice communication systems and thatperforms tactical Internet routing, Embedded Battle Command (EBC),message generation, protocol conversion and supports a variety of legacyprotocols through the collaborative functions of a CPM, at least one DSPModule, MSM, PCM, a backplane, and a ruggedized, compact modem housingwith interfacing connectors.

An embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated inFIG. 1A which illustrates an IDM 1 with major components therein. TheIDM 1 includes a first CPM 100, a MSM 200, which includes twosolid-state memory storage devices 210 and 220, PCM 300, two DSP modules400 and 500, and an optional second CPM 600.

The IDM 1 includes external interfaces, e.g. communication, electricaland mechanical interfaces (not shown), between the IDM enclosure and theplatform in which it is installed. The IDM external communication andelectrical interfaces are shown in Table 1 below and in FIG. 1B. TABLE 1External Communication and Electrical Interface Matrix Total InterfaceInterfaces Modulation Type Standard Available Type Analog N/A 4 FSKDigital N/A 4 ASK/FSK DRA MIL-STD-188-114 4 NRZ-L SDLC MIL-STD-188-114 1N/A EPLRS RS-422 1 N/A HF SYNC RS-422 TX/RS-423 RX 1 N/A SPARE SYNCRS-422 TX/RS-423 RX 1 N/A SIP ASYNC RS-232 2 N/A HF ASYNC RS-232 1 N/AUSB USB Revision 1.0 1 per CPM N/A Ethernet IEEE-802.3 1 per CPM NRZMIL-STD-1553 MIL-STD-1553B 1 (Dual Manchester Redundant) PowerMIL-STD-704 1 N/A

In an embodiment of the present invention, the IDM provides 22 externaldata communication interfaces and a 28 Volts direct current electricalpower interface. These communication interfaces include threeindependent RS-232C interfaces, two mixed RS-423/RS-422 interfaces, oneRS-422 interface, one Ethernet interface, one USB interface, and oneMIL-STD-1553B interface. The remaining 12 interfaces are divided amongfour half-duplexed radio channels. Each half-duplex radio channel iscapable of being configured into one of three different communicationinterfaces: analog or duo-binary frequency shift keying, digital, orsynchronous digital. Each of the four half-duplexed radio channels hasone communication interface, data rate, and link format operational atany given time.

As the IDM of the present invention includes major modules, such as thePCM 300, the DSP modules 500 and 400, and the CPM 100, and the MSM 200,the IDM also includes a chassis/backplane assembly into which all thesemodules are plugged. Such hardware configuration of the IDM, including abackplane 10 and plug-in modules, is shown in FIG. 2.

Each of the major components of the IDM is described in more detail asfollows.

Communication Processor Module

The heart of the IDM 1 of the present invention is the CPM 100 module,which is illustrated in a high-level logical block diagram in FIG. 4 andin a lower-level detailed diagram in FIG. 5.

In FIG. 4 the CPM 100 is a microprocessor-based module having anarchitecture that resembles today's x86-based personal computers andthat includes many commercial off-the-shelf components. The CPM 100includes a microprocessor 20, such as a Pentium® processor with MMX™extensions made by Intel® or a similar processor capable of running inreal mode or protected mode, which provides computing power for the CPM100. Processor 20 is connected to a north bridge 24, which is a PCIchipset system controller, via a host bus 22. The north bridge 24 is, inthis preferred embodiment, an Intel® 430TX® chipset. The north bridge 24provides, among other things, memory access to system memory 28 viamemory bus 26. The system memory 28 is preferably a Synchronous DynamicRandom Access Memory (SDRAM) with a memory capacity of 128K Mbyte orgreater. The north bridge 24 provides a PCI bus 30 to which a southbridge 32 is connected. The south bridge 32 is a PCI-to-ISA/IDEaccelerator which provides, among other things, an IDE (Integrated DriveElectronics) 235 and USB interface 236, and an ISA (Industry StandardArchitecture) bus 44. The south bridge 32 is preferably an Intel® PIIX4®device or the like.

The CPM 100 includes an Ethernet controller with a Fast Ethernetinterface 34, which is a 10/100 base-T Ethernet, that is interfaced withthe PCI bus 30. Ethernet interface 34 provides a local area network linkto other external devices that are a part of the Tactical Internet.

Attached to the PCI bus 30 are IEEE-1394 backplane interface 46 and twoserial communications controllers 60 and 70, which will be described indetail later.

Connected to the south bridge 32 via ISA bus 44 are a flash memory 42, aMIL-STD-1553B avionic Bus Controller or Remote Terminal 50, and a firstEPLD (EPLD1) 40. Connected to the serial communication controllers 60and 70 is a second EPLD 80 (EPLD2).

The architecture and functions of the EPLD2 and EPLD1 will be apparentas they are referenced and described herein.

The flash memory 42 preferably provides storage space for BIOS, a bootkernel or a backup operating system (OS). The flash memory 42 preferablyfurther stores IDM-specific application codes that can be executed tooperate the IDM in a degraded mode. The degraded mode provides the IDMwith limited functions with at least a functional MIL-STD-1553B bus, aswill be explained later.

In this present embodiment, the BIOS is a commercial off-the-shelfstandard BIOS, such as an Award® BIOS or AMI® BIOS, that is found intoday's x86-based PC-compatible systems. The BIOS, including patches ormodifications for adapting the BIOS to the IDM functional needs, is of astandard size of 128 KB and is preferably stored in page 0 of flashmemory 42. The backup OS and application codes are stored in remainingpages of the flash memory. In the case where the flash memory is 2Mbytes, with sixteen 128 KB pages, which are numbered from 0 to 15, thebackup OS and application software are stored in pages 1-15, as the BIOSis stored in page 0 of the flash memory.

The backup OS kernel necessary to boot strap the IDM 1 and to place itin a degraded operational mode is preferably a real-time operatingsystem, such as LynxOS® by LynuxWorks™ or VX-Work® by WindRiver SystemInc. The backup OS kernel is preferably stored in a compressed format inthe flash memory 42, and is uncompressed as needed.

The Ethernet controller 34 links the CPM 100 to a Ethernet hub 230located in the MSM 200, as shown in FIG. 6, and communicates with othernetwork devices (not shown) external to the IDM. The other externalnetwork devices are integral to the Tactical Internet.

A majority of specialized circuitries and functions of the CPM areimplemented using electrically programmable logic devices 40 and 80,which are EPLD1 and EPLD 2, respectively, as shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 5, it can be seen that the EPLD1 is advantageously used toprovide an ISA bus decoder and controller 84, a programmable interruptcontroller (not shown), a watchdog timer 120, IDM/JCIT system status,including Ready Discrete, Fail, IDE reset inverter, and a hardwareversion register.

The EPLD2 is advantageously used for providing a synchronous port fixfor the serial communication controllers 60 and 70, a PTT control,general purpose inverters, and IEEE-1394 buffer control, which arerepresented by block 110.

The EPLDs can be an Altera Max 7000® series with part numberEPM7160STI100-10. The hardware circuitry programmed therein aredeveloped in Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware DescriptionLanguage (VHDL) source code using, for example, the Altera Max+Plus II®programmable logic development system.

The EPLDs are chosen for providing the specified circuitries and logicbecause the EPLDs can be customized to specific applications rapidly andeconomically while meeting the space constraints of the CPM module andthe IDM.

Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) are less preferred overEPLD for providing customized circuitry and logic to meet the needs ofthe IDM. ASICs are comparatively costlier to design and produce, whileEPLDs are quicker and more cost-effective to implement customizedcircuitry and logic.

In order to effect serial communications in the IDM 1, serialcommunication controllers 60 and 70 are provided in the CPM module. Thetwo serial communication controllers 60 and 70 provide threeasynchronous serial communication interfaces. Two of these asynchronousserial communication interfaces 162 and 164 are used for configurationand status of SINCGARS System Improvement Program (SIP) radios. A thirdasynchronous serial communication interface 146 is used forconfiguration and status of the HF radio. The three asynchronous serialcommunication interfaces are RS-232C compliant. Asynchronous ports 1 isprovided by an RS-232 transceiver 96, and the second and thirdasynchronous ports are provided by an RS-232C transceiver 104, as shownin FIG. 5.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the two serial communication controllers 60and 70 provide the CPM with five synchronous serial communicationinterfaces. These serial communication interfaces include a firstsynchronous port 148 for communication with the DSP1 module 500, asecond synchronous port 150 for communicating with EPLRS, a thirdsynchronous port, having a mix of input 152 and output 154, for use as aspare, such as for maintenance, a fourth synchronous port 166 forcommunicating with DSP2 module 400, and a fifth synchronous port, havinga mix of input 168 and output 170, for communicating with an HF radio.

The first and second synchronous communication ports are provided by anRS-422 transceiver 98, the third port is provided by a mixed RS-422transceiver 98 and RS-423 transceiver 102, the fourth synchronouscommunication port is provided by RS-422 transceiver 106, and the fifthsynchronous communication port is provided by a mixed RS-422 transceiver106 and RS-423 transceiver 108.

As shown, each of the serial communications controllers 60 and 70 iscapable of providing four serial communication channels.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the 4-channel serialcommunication controller 60 and 70 preferably is operable in a clocklessmode. Such communication controller can be an Infineon® DSCC4 serialcommunication controller. Other DSCC4 controllers, such as those ofSiemens® may also be used. The 4-channel serial communicationcontrollers 60 and 70 and the DSCC4 are herein used interchangeably.

Since the state machine inside the DSCC4 cannot be configured oroperated without an external clock, and the external radios interfacedto the synchronous communication port may or may not provide a clock insynchronous mode, a mechanism, i.e. a synchronous port fix, isimplemented to allow the configuration of the synchronous communicationports to effect synchronous communication.

This synchronous port fix is shown in FIG. 9 and is composed of a clockmultiplexer 780, an internal clock source 784, and a receive data delay(not shown). The synchronous port fix is provided in the EPLD2 shown inblock 110 in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 9, the clock multiplexer 780 selects between twoclocks, an external radio clock 782 or a free running internal clock 784(INT_CLK), via a control signal 786 (SEL_INTCLK_CLK). During theconfiguration of the DSCC4 synchronous port, the free running internalclock signal 784 is selected and connected to a DSCC4 clock input of theserial communication controllers 60 and 70 via 788. After the DSCC4configuration and during normal operation, the radio clock signal 782 isconnected to the DSCC4 clock input of the serial communicationcontrollers 60 and 70 via 788.

The synchronous port fix includes a receive data delay (not shown),which is required to realign the phase of the radio clock with it'sreceived data. Since the multiplexer 780 introduces a known delay frominput to output, the received data will also be delayed by the sametime. Any gate type mechanism, such as inverter, flip-flop, or the like,can be used for the delay path. In this present embodiment, a total ofseven delay circuits are required.

Other serial communication controllers having clockless mode and anynumber of channels may be used in place of the 4-channel DSCC4 toprovide more or less serial communication channels as needed. However,the application of the synchronous port fix can be provided in the samemanner to effect synchronous serial communication.

The free running internal clock signal 784 provided to multiplexer in780 can be derived from an externally supplied ISA clock. The internalclock can be provided by, e.g., dividing an 8 MHz ISA clock down toapproximately 96 KHz having a 50% duty cycle.

In addition to providing the synchronous port fix to the serialcommunication controllers 60 and 70, the EPLD2 80 is also used forimplementing Ground Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio SystemSystem Improvement Program or Ground SINCGARS SIP (GSIP)radioPush-to-Talk (PTT) control, which includes four programmable inverters,and IEEE-1394 BTL buffer control 800, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Such implementation of GSIP PTT control is shown in FIG. 5, block 110,112 and 160 as a high level diagram.

The EPLD2 80 is also used for implementing four general-purposeinverters. These inverters are used to invert the logic levels of therequest-to-send (RTS) outputs of the DSCC4 serial communicationscontroller which controls a quad low-side switch 122 used to assertadditional radio PTT lines, which are lines 134, 136, 138 and 140illustrated in FIG. 5.

The EPLD 2 80 is further used to provide hardware to control BackplaneTransceiver Logic (BTL) buffers used for the IEEE-1394 interface 46, 74,76, and 77 shown in FIG. 5.

Components 74, 76, and 77 as well as the EPLD2 110 glue logic forIEEE-1394 BTL buffer control in FIG. 5 are shown in greater details inFIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, the EPLD2 110 provides glue logic to control thedirection of the IEEE-1394 BTL Buffer. The IDM_JCIT# inputs 157 is usedto control the JCIT specific signals on the IEEE-1394 BTL XCVR 76. Ifthe CPM 100 is inserted into a JCIT chassis, the JCIT specific signalsmust be allowed to enter the CPM 100 as inputs. In an IDM chassis theCPM 100 needs to drive the BTL XCVR 76 signals because floating inputswould be undesirable.

Additional control is required for the IEEE-1394 specific data andstrobe signals. In a JCIT chassis, the IEEE-1394 BTL XCVR 76 1394_DATAsignal 910 and 1394_STB signal 912 must be under the flow control of theIEEE-1394 Physical Layer IC 74. The JCIT chassis provides an activeIEEE-1394 backplane interface requiring CPM support. In an IDM chassis,the presence of a second optional CPM 600 dictates the flow controlmechanism of the IEEE-1394 BTL XCVR 76. With two CPMs present, anIEEE-1394 backplane interface is completed and thus the IEEE-1394Physical Layer IC 74 on each CPM must have flow control of the IEEE-1394BTL XCVRs 76 allowing bi-directional communications. With one CPMpresent, the IEEE-1394 BTL XCVR 76 is forced to output only to prevent afloating input condition on the IEEE-1394 DATA and STB signals. Theadditional control is provided by combining a logical AND of theIDM_JCIT# 157 and OTHER_CPM_PRESENT# inputs 156 to the EPLD2 110.

Table 2 below is a truth table for the IEEE-1394 BTL buffer control.TABLE 2 Truth Table for IEEE-1394 BTL Buffer Control INPUTS OTHER CPMOUTPUTS IDM JCIT# PRESENT# PHY XCVR OE# XCVR OEB2# 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 00 1 1 1 0

FIG. 13B shows which control signals become asserted in an IDM chassisversus a JCIT chassis. The CPM provides two signals that help todetermine the location and certain functionality of the CPM. TheIDM_JCIT# signal 157 is used to identify the backplane type. This isaccomplished by either grounding or floating the signal in thebackplane. The OTHER_CPM_PRESENT# signal 156 identifies if an optionaladditional CPM is present in an IDM backplane.

In FIG. 13A, a CPM 100 provides a trace loop for connectivity to providepresence indication to the other CPM 600. The indication is reciprocalsince both CPMs are identical. One end of each of the loops is groundedin the IDM chassis, as shown in ground connection 920 and 922. Theinsertion of a CPM connects this ground to the sense signal of the otherCPM through the trace loop, thus signifying its presence. This is aninnovative method of detecting the presence of an additional CPM andchassis location.

Although the CPM 100 of the IDM 1 shares many similarities with a commonx86-based PC, such as using a x86-based CPU, standard BIOS, a PIIX4®chipset and a 430TX® chipset, the CPM 100 is different in many respects.For example, the CPM by design has no super I/O controller chip withcapabilities such as a parallel port and serial port, keyboard, monitor,floppy drive or VGA. In a preferred embodiment, all asynchronouscommunications are performed through the asynchronous ports provided bythe serial communication controllers 60 and 70.

As previously mentioned, the CPM 100 further includes the followinghardware: ISA bus decoder/controller, a flash page register foraccessing information stored in flash pages, such as BIOS, backup OSkernel, and application codes, of flash memory 42, a MIL-STD-1553Binterface controller, a programmable interrupt controller (PIC), awatchdog (WDOG) timer, an IDM status, system status, IDE reset inverter,and a hardware version register. In addition to the above-mentionedhardware and control logic, the CPM is also provided with an interruptmask register, an interrupt status register, a watchdog keep aliveregister, a watchdog status register, a system status register, and asystem mode register. The flash page register embedded in the EPLD1extends the standard BIOS addressing from 128 kbytes to 8 MBytes,preferably to 2M bytes. Refer to FIG. 11 for a detailed diagram showingthe flash page interface, which allows the access of the BIOS in a firstflash memory page and the backup OS kernel in subsequent flash memorypages.

An exemplary embodiment of an ISA decoder is illustrated in FIG. 5,block 84. The ISA decoder 84 implemented using the EPLD1 40 (FIG. 4)provides the interface and control logic for the flash page register,MIL-STD-1553B interface, programmable interrupt controller, watchdogtimer, ready discrete, fail status, and hardware version register, allof which except the MIL-STD-1553B interface are embedded in the EPLD1.The MIL-STD-1553B interface is provided by a commercial off-the-shelfcomponent such as a UTMC 5962-9858701 QZC device made by UnitedTechnologies Microelectronic Systems (UTMC), Inc.

The architecture for the flash page register is shown in FIG. 10A andconsists of a seven-bit read/write programmable register.

The programmable interrupt controller (PIC) has an architecture thatincludes the following: 7 interrupt inputs with 1 interrupt output, a7-bit write/read interrupt mask register, and a 7-bit write/readinterrupt pending or status register. The number of bits in theprogrammable interrupt controller can be of any number as needed,preferably between 7 and 16 bits. FIG. 10B illustrates a detailed blockdiagram of a 7-bit interrupt controller of the present invention.

The interrupt controller has the following characteristics: the 7interrupt inputs are asynchronous and are negative edge triggered, the 1interrupt output is asynchronous and has positive level output, andinterrupt input is masked if a logic 1 is written to the correspondingbit in the interrupt mask register, the interrupt register is I/O mappedand is word writeable/readable, a bit in the pending interrupt registeris set to a logic 1 if the corresponding interrupt input occurred, theinterrupt pending is I/O mapped and is word readable/writable, and apending interrupt is cleared by writing a logic 0 to the correspondingbit in the pending interrupt register. The interrupt pending register ispreferably decoded at address 342HEX, and the mask register ispreferably decoded at I/O address 340HEX.

The interrupt output occurs from a pending, unmasked interrupt. Forexample, the interrupt output can be a logic OR combination of all bitsin the pending interrupt register which are ANDed with the invert ofbits in the interrupt mask register. If one or more pending interruptsare asserted (logic 1) then the interrupt output remains asserted(logic 1) if the associated interrupt is not masked.

The interrupt controller is reset by the watchdog system reset logic inEPLD1 via line 118, watchdog timer reset. On reset, the mask register isset so that all interrupts are masked and the interrupt pending registeris cleared indicating no pending interrupts.

A watchdog timer is commonly known as a mechanism used to determinewhether another mechanism is functioning properly. A watchdog timertypically is a safety feature that prevents runaway software. When awatchdog times out, it stops a CPU from executing meaningless code, asituation that arises from an electrical or programming error. Morespecifically, if the software is not being executed properly, it failsto clear, or to tickle, the watchdog timer, or if the watchdog timer isnot cleared, or tickled, for a specified interval, the watchdog timercauses the CPU to reboot and execute software from a known place.

However, in the present invention, the watchdog timer 120 is a timerresponsible for generating a board reset in the event the watchdog timeris not reset by software. Additionally, should the timer expire, awatchdog reset status bit is set indicating that a watchdog resetoccurred. The operating characteristics of the watchdog timer in apreferred embodiment are shown in Table 3 and a state diagram is shownin FIG. 7. TABLE 3 Operating Characteristics of the WDOG Timer SoftwareWDOG Reset Command: ADDRESS = 0x360/DATA = Don't Care WDOG SoftwareBOARD CONDITION Reset Period WDOG PERIOD RESET? Board Power-up >90seconds 90 seconds  Yes, at 90 seconds Board Power-up <90 sec. 5 secondsYes, at But >5 sec. 5 seconds Board Power-up 1^(st) <90 sec., 5 secondsNo next <5 sec. Board Reset >90 seconds 90 seconds  Yes, at 90 secondsBoard Reset <90 sec. 5 seconds Yes, at But >5 sec. 5 seconds Board Reset1^(st) <90 sec., 5 seconds No. next <5 sec.

The state diagram of the watchdog timer 120 illustrated in FIG. 7 isexplained as follows. On power-up or cold boot-strapping the IDM from apowered down state, a watchdog reset status bit is cleared to a logic 0in state 702. In state 704, on power-up or following a watchdog resetcondition, the reset assertion event is debounced for about 140 msbefore transitioning to state 708. The reset deassertion event isdebounced for an approximate 140 ms when transitioning from state 708 to712. In state 712, if a software watchdog reset command is not issuedwithin 90 seconds, during which time the processor initialization shouldtake place, the watchdog timer reset status bit is set and the CPM 100is reset, by transitioning from state 712 into state 724.

In state 712, if a boot was successful, a software watchdog resetcommand is issued, which resets the watchdog timer and the watchdogtimer automatically reduces its time out period to 5 seconds, as shownin state 718. Any subsequent software WDOG reset commands issued lessthan 5-seconds will keep the WDOG time alive in state 718. If anysubsequent software watchdog reset command is not issued within 5seconds under this condition, the watchdog reset status bit is set andthe CPM is reset as shown in transition state 724.

The duration of the CPM reset caused from a watchdog time is controlledby state 724 and is about 140 ms. After the reset cycle is complete thestate machine re-enters the initial 704 state and cycles through state712 where the WDOG timeout is reset to 90-seconds.

The multi-mode watch dog timer described above is unique in that itchanges timeout periods to accommodate the current operational mode ofthe CPM firmware and software while ensuring that the software isexecuting properly.

The power-up reset for the CPM 100 is derived from the PCM 300 through aPower Good signal 132 in FIG. 5. This Power Good signal is generated bya Power Good circuitry (not shown) in the PCM 300 and remains at logic 0for a minimum of about 105 ms until the +5 Volt or other supplies, suchas the +3.3V, and +2.5V supplies, are up and stable. Once the suppliesare up and stable, the Power Good signal is changed to a logic 1 andremains in that state until the converter is shut down. The watchdogreset circuitry in the EPLD1 also provides debounce capability for aclean reset generated from an unstable Power Good input.

The watchdog status bit is I/O mapped, word readable, and preferablyresides at I/O address 362HEX (data bit-0 on ISA bus). If the watchdogstatus bit is set, it is cleared automatically (1 ISA bus cycle clocklater) after and only after it has been successfully read.

The software watchdog reset command is preferably I/O mapped, wordreadable/writable and preferably resides at I/O address 360HEX. Any datawritten to this address causes the watchdog timer to reset. The watchdogtimer can be designed to require a specific data to be written to thisaddress for resetting. Such requirement minimizes false resetting.

The software watchdog reset write command has additionally a set logic(logic 1), a self reset bit (SRB) indicating that a software watchdogreset has occurred. Reading from I/O address 360HEX returns the value ofthe SRB (data bit-0 on ISA data bus) on power-up, or following awatchdog reset condition, the SRB is cleared to a logic 0. If the SRB isset, it automatically will be cleared (IDS bus clock cycle later) afterand only after it has been successfully read.

The EPLD1 also provides a circuit that provides a level input signalIDM_JCIT# to the CPM 100 to identify which system the CPM is insertedinto, whether it is an IDM or a JCIT terminal.

For example, if the level input has a logic 0, the CPM is inserted intoa JCIT chassis, and a logic 1 indicates that the CPM 100 is insertedinto an IDM chassis. The ISA bus can read the status of this IDM statusbit in real time. That is, the IDM status bit is not latched and is I/Omapped, word readable, and preferably resides preferably at I/O address366HEX (data bit-0 on ISA bus).

The watchdog timer 120 has a watchdog signal input with its polarity orlogic state controlled by the IDM_JCIT# input signal 157.

The EPLD1 also provides the Ready Discrete bit. The Ready Discrete bitis used to indicate that the MIL-STD-1553B bus, represented by element86 in FIG. 5, is active. The Ready Discrete includes a Failed bit thatindicates that if the IDM has successfully booted and is operational.The Ready Discrete is shown as element 124 and 194 in FIG. 5. A ReadyDiscrete register is I/O mapped, word readable/writable, and preferablyresides at I/O address 364HEX. On power-up or following a watchdog resetcondition, a Ready Discrete bit is cleared to a logic 0 indicating thatthe MIL-STD-1553B bus is inactive. The Fail bit in this case is set to alogic 1 indicating that the IDM is not operational.

The EPLD1 provides an IDE reset inverter which inverts an ISA bus resetdrive output to generate an additional reset signal needed by anexternal IDE disk drive.

The EPLD1 also provides a hardware version register (not shown) that isword readable and containing the version number of the EPLD1. Thisregister is I/O mapped and is preferably located at I/O address 368HEX.

The EPLD1 provides interface and logic for MIL-STD-1553B interfacecontroller, which provides a glueless interface to the ISA bus and aMIL-STD-1553B controller.

As mentioned, CPM 100 of the IDM 1 is an x86-based computer thatutilizes many of the commercial of-the-shelf components used in aconventional PC. However the CPM 100 is designed for the IDM andtherefore is highly customized for its intended use.

The CPM 100 utilizes a standard off-the-shelf BIOS, e.g. Award or AMIBIOS, for the usual PC hardware initialization and execution of aoperating system loaded from disk. However, the BIOS of the CPM 100,located in flash memory 42, contains patches or modifications toaccommodate the CPM and the IDM hardware configuration. For instance,the CPM 100 has no battery for maintaining the contents of the southbridge's real-time clock CMOS memory. The BIOS relies on this memory forits knowledge of IDE disk geometry, PCI interrupt request assignmentsand other matters. Therefore, the CPM 100 BIOS is patched to copy intoCMOS memory a group of default good settings early in the boot process.Among these settings are the desired SDRAM timing figures for the northbridge memory controller and the command to the BIOS to go directly toan IDE disk boot, bypassing any nonexistent floppy, SCSI, or CDROM diskaccess.

As the CPM 100 has no keyboard controller, all keyboard port reads inthe off-the-shelf BIOS have been removed, bypassed, or satisfied withdummy characters at any point in the BIOS requiring keyboard input. ForPC/AT compatibility, an off-the-shelf BIOS also accesses the keyboardcontroller I/O port in order to enable or disable the processor's A20address line to memory. The CPM 100 BIOS writes instead to an I/O portin the south bridge to enable A20.

In a common PC the BIOS displays its output by writing to VGA memory.However the IDM of the present invention does not have a display.Therefore all character writes to VGA memory are preferably echoed toI/O port 2F8H for debugging purposes. A JTAG in-circuit emulator (ICE)can be used to trap on access to this port to see the VGA output fromthe BIOS.

As previously mentioned, the CPM 100 BIOS resides in the first 128 Kbytepage of CPM flash memory 42. The remaining pages of flash memory 42 alsocontain a backup operating system (or flash kernel), e.g. a copy of theLynxOS® or vxWorks® real-time operating system, including drivers andapplication codes in remaining flash memory pages.

The BIOS has the ability to boot into the flash kernel that resides inthe flash memory 42 as well as to the disk operating system stored onmaster IDE disk 210. FIGS. 8A and 8B each show an exemplary flow diagramof this ability to boot-strap from either a flash boot or a disk boot.This flash kernel is potentially the same as the disk operating systemkernel. The BIOS enters the flash kernel either after failure to performthe normal disk boot, through specific IDM configuration bit settings,or through detection of certain CPM watchdog resets.

The IDM configuration bits mentioned are used for strapping differentboot modes operations and some possible boot definitions are shown inthe Table 4 below. TABLE 4 Configuration Codes Mode StrappingOperational No. CONFIG[2:0] Mode Ethernet 0 000 Normal Force 100 BaseT 1001 Normal Auto Negotiate 2 010 Reserved Reserved 3 011 ReservedReserved 4 100 Boot Code Force 10 BaseT 5 101 Boot Code Force 100 BaseT6 110 Boot Code Auto Negotiate 7 111 Normal Force 10 BaseT

Three IDM configuration input bits are available at the south bridgegeneral purpose I/O (GPIO) port for a total of 8 possible settings. TheCPM BIOS reads this port before attempting a disk boot, and on certainconfigurations the BIOS goes directly to the interrupt 18H handler for aflash kernel boot. Thus the IDM operator can force the IDM not toexecute the disk operating system on the MSM.

The CPM boot process, exemplified in a flow diagram in FIG. 8A, isdescribed as follows.

At CPM 100 reset or power up, processor 20 begins execution of the BIOSin block 750. Page 0 of flash memory 42 has been selected at the EPLDflash page register at reset, making the BIOS visible to the CPMprocessor at the usual addresses. Normally the startup portion of theBIOS, running out of flash, decompresses the runtime portion from flashinto shadow RAM, and jumps to the code in shadow RAM. (This is a portionof the SDRAM which the processor accesses via the north bridge). In theCPM BIOS, once it is no longer executing from flash, the BIOS (or anyother software which executes later, such as a disk operating system)may read from another flash page by writing to the EPLD1 flash pageregister. EPLD1 makes the appropriate flash page visible to theprocessor by responding to processor memory accesses in the rangedecoded by the south bridge as intended for the flash copy of theoff-the-shelf BIOS. EPLD1 provides additional address decoding such thatthe CPM flash memory device 42 sees a read/write request of a word inthe appropriate flash page.

Normally the BIOS attempts to disk boot by reading into memory the firstsector of the active partition of the primary, master IDE disk 210 onthe MSM 200. Before the CPM BIOS attempts to disk boot however, it readsthe EPLD1 watchdog status bit. Furthermore, before attempting a diskboot, the BIOS reads real-time clock CMOS RAM address 80H, which isphysically located in the south bridge. In this location the BIOS andthe disk operating system kernel maintain a flash boot flag whichsurvives through watchdog resets. If the watchdog status bit indicatesthat a watchdog reset occurred to cause the last reboot, and if the CMOSflash boot flag equals 62H (‘b’) (FIG. 8A, block 752), the BIOS executesthe flash kernel via interrupt 18H (FIG. 8A, block 756). If the BIOSdetects IDM configuration bits set for flash kernel boot (FIG. 8A, block754), it invokes interrupt 18H to execute the flash kernel (FIG. 8A,block 756). Otherwise, if the BIOS fails to read the disk's partitiontable and the sector from the active partition (FIG. 8A, block 760), itinvokes interrupt 18H for PC/AT compatibility. (Note that normally theinterrupt handler executes ROM BASIC in a conventional PC/AT or itdisplays an error message such as “failure to disk boot.”) The interrupthandler of the present invention's modified CPM BIOS instead executesthe flash kernel (FIG. 8A, block 756).

When the CPM BIOS is about to jump to code read from disk as part of itsnormal disk boot, it first sets the flash boot flag to 62H (‘b’) (FIG.8A, block 762). Note that this value of 62H may be a selected value thatdecreases the probability of false flagging. In 764, if a validoperating system is present on disk and executes correctly within 90seconds of CPM reset/powerup, it clears the ‘b’ flash boot flag beforethe IDM application has a chance to execute. The operating system alsobegins resetting or tickling the EPLD1 watchdog timer 120 until the IDMapplication takes responsibility for it by accessing the watchdog timer120 itself. If a valid operating system does not execute correctly tothe point that it prepares to load the IDM application code, within 90seconds of CPM reset, the watchdog 120 issues a system reset signal 121that is shown in FIG. 5. A CPM watchdog reset forces a reboot. The BIOSbegins execution out of flash again. The BIOS detects the watchdog resetvia the EPLD and reads the ‘b’ in the CMOS flash boot flag. The BIOSexecutes the flash kernel.

A boot of the flash kernel proceeds as follows. Once the BIOS interrupt18H handler executes for booting the flash kernel, the BIOS code copiespage 1 of flash memory 42 into SDRAM at address 8000H and jumps to it.This bootstrap code, for LynxOS®, switches the processor 20 of the CPM100 into protected mode and copies the remaining flash pages into thetop of system memory (SDRAM) 28. Flash data is copied one page at a timewith the aid of the flash page register in the EPLD 1. The page 1 codethen decompresses the boot kernel in this flash data, copies it to itsruntime addresses in system memory, and jumps to it.

Continuing from block 766, and IDM application clears the watchdog timer120 every five seconds via a software reset command. This clearing ortickling of the watchdog timer 120 can be seen in the state 718, in FIG.7. If the IDM application does not issue a software reset, the watchdogtimer 120 issues a system reset signal 121 as shown in FIG. 5, and state724 in FIG. 7. The system reset is shown in block 770, and in block 750the processor is reset and the execution of the BIOS begin again. Aspreviously mentioned, a watchdog timer reset that results from and IDMapplication failing to reset the watchdog timer 120 will result in anattempt to execute the IDM application once the IDM is rebooted.

FIG. 8B illustrates, in a slightly different level of details than FIG.8A, an examplary boot-strapping process of the CPM 100 which begins inblock 960, for boot-strapping from a backup OS stored in flash memory42, or in block 978, for boot-strapping from an IDE disk 210.

In FIG. 8B, block 962, the BIOS copies flash page 1 of memory 42,wherein a preboot program is stored, to addresses 8000H-A0000H, andjumps to address 8000H. In block 964, the preboot program, calledrkjump, which is a small program that copies a larger kernel from flashinto system's memory 28 at address 8000H, is executed and switches theprocessor 20 to protected mode and copies flash pages 2-15 to systemSDRAM 28. The preboot then decompresses the copied pages in the SDRAM 28to obtain the backup OS in block 966. In block 968, the preboot rkjumpcopies itself to another, preferably higher, memory address and copiesthe decompressed backup OS to preferably address 1000H. Then, in block970, the backup OS, preferably the LynxOS® kernel, begins execution,creates a ramdisk containing root file system, load drivers, and runs afirst LynxOS application in IDM. As mentioned the backup OS containsalso application codes, including drivers and related files.

The first IDM application executes startup scripts. The firstapplication that runs under LynxOS® in the IDM executes startup scriptsthat can place the IDM in a degraded operating mode or can run a programsuch as the EBC program, as determined in block 974 and block 976.

In the case where the IDM begins a disk boot, as in block 978, theboot-strapping process continues in block 980, wherein the BIOS readsboot sector to system memory 28 and jumps to the memory. In block 982, apreboot stored on the flash IDE drive 210 is loaded. The preboot thenswitches the processor 20 to protected mode, loads a backup OS from diskto system memory at address 1000H in block 984. The boot-strappingprocess then continues in block 970 as described above.

The above-described usage of flash memory to provides a non-volatilestorage solution for system critical firmware such as the system BIOSand fail-safe boot kernel or backup operating system, which is usedinterchangeably with backup operating system kernel.

Besides the utilization of the flash memory 42, the CPM 100 alsoutilizes a SEEPROM 38 to store configuration words for Ethernet MAC/PHY.Included in the configuration word data is the MAC (Media AccessController) address and default IP (Internet Protocol) address.

In the case where a flash boot is performed, the IDM is preferably putinto a degraded operational mode which provides at least a MIL-STD-1553Bcommunication bus for use.

The MIL-STD-1553B interface is connected to a mission computer residingin the same platform on which the IDM is mounted. In operation, themission computer polls all Remote Terminal, including the IDM, on theMIL-STD-1553B bus for system status information. The status informationis decoded and displayed on the pilots Heads Up Display (HUD).

For the purpose of testing, diagnosing, configuring the IDM, a processorJTAG port 126 is provided to the processor 20, as shown in FIG. 5.

In general, JTAG ports are used for interfacing of testing equipmentwith a system under test, such as an IDM. In the present invention,however, the JTAG port 126 of the processor 20 is also used forprogramming the flash memory 42 with a BIOS, backup OS and anapplication software, and the SEEPROM 38 with configuration data forEthernet MAC and IP addresses.

An exemplary means for programming flash memory 42 and SEEPROM 38 isschematically illustrated in FIG. 3.

The flash memory 42 and the SEEPROM 38 initially are unprogrammed on abrand new CPM. That is, a new CPM 100 in an IDM cannot be booted becausethere is no BIOS present in the flash memory 42. Further, the Ethernetcontroller 34 is initially inoperable because the SEEPROM 38 is not yetprogrammed with MAC/PHY configuration data.

The flash memory 42 and the SEEPROM 38 can be preprogrammed before theyare assembled onto the CPM module. However, preprogramming the flashmemory 42 and SEEPROM 38 is undesirable. Therefore, they are preferablyprogrammed during an IDM system test or a CPM test.

In FIG. 3, an ICE is used for programming the flash memory 42 andSEEPROM 38 of the CPM 100. The ICE shown includes an American Arium®(PCM-55 ITP) 900 connected to the JTAG port of the processor 20 via anITP (In Target Probe) cable 906 and a PC 902 running American Arium's®WinDB™ debug software which control the PCM-55 hardware pod.

The flash memory 42 provides a non-volatile storage solution for systemcritical firmware such as the BIOS and a fail-safe boot kernel, whichincludes a backup operating system and an IDM application program. TheEthernet SEEPROM 38 contains configuration words for the EthernetMAC/PHY. Included in the configuration data is the MAC address anddefault IP (Internet Protocol) address. The BIOS and SEEPROM must beprogrammed before the CPM becomes a useable module capable of running anoperating system.

The process for programming the flash memory 42 and the Internet SEEPROM38 through the processor's JTAG port is described as follows.

The CPM 100 is placed into a test apparatus which breaks out theprocessor's 20 JTAG signals to a connector header connected to thePCM-55 ITP hardware 700. The CPM 100 and the PCM-55 ITP hardware 700 arethen powered up. Upon powering up, the PCM-55 stops the processor 20 fordebug access.

At this point memory control logic in the EPLD1 sets the flash pagingregister to provide access to the first page of the flash memory 42.FIG. 11 shows the electrical interface for the FLASH paging. The ICEresets the CPM 100 and places all on board components into a knownstate. Then the ICE executes a custom script that first configures thenorth bridge 24 and the south bridge 32 chipset.

Once the north bridge 24 is configured the system memory SDRAM 28 isthen configured. Using the WinDB load feature, the ICE loads a BIOSbinary image into SDRAM 28. The WinDB™ load feature reads a specificlocal file and “locates” it into the CPM's SDRAM 28 at a specifiedmemory address. Using the WinDB™ load feature, the ICE then loads acustom flash burning loading program into the SDRAM 28. Then the ICEsets a break point at I/O address at preferably 0x9H and sets an IP(Instruction Pointer) preferably to 8000:0 which is the firstinstruction location of the flash burning program. The ICE then releasesthe processor, and the processor executes the flash burning programinstructions until it reaches the break point. Upon reaching the breakpoint, the flash memory 42 will contain a BIOS in its first memory page.

Once the programming of the flash memory 42 with BIOS is complete, theEthernet SEEPROM 38 is then programmed by the ICE. As the SDRAM 38 arestill configured from the previous operation the ICE, using the WinDBload feature the ICE loads a SEEPROM binary image containing a uniqueMAC address and default IP address for the CPM 100. The SEEPROM binaryimage is located to the same location and memory as was the BIOS binaryimage. The ICE then loads a custom SEEPROM writing program into SDRAM 28starting at memory location at preferably 8000:0, and sets a break pointat I/O address 0x92H and sets the IP address to 8000:0. The ICE thenallows the processor 20 to run until it reaches the break point. Uponreaching the break point, the SEEPROM 38 will contain the unique MACaddress, the default IP address, and other configuration words.

Upon successful completion of the burning of flash memory 42 and SEEPROM38, the CPM 100 is then configured for a disk boot and then reset. TheCPM 100 will configure itself by executing the newly burned BIOS andthen jump to an operating system stored on a local master IDE drive inpreparation for burning the backup OS and application software into theflash memory device 42.

Mass Storage Module

An embodiment of the MSM 200 of the present invention is illustrated inFIG. 6. The MSM 200 has electrical interfaces to a host platform andother modules via the back plane 10 in FIG. 2. The MSM 200 has adimension that is compliant with the Standard Electronic Module format(SEM-E), including IEEE1101.4 format. The MSM 200 houses a solid statedisk 1, which is a master IDE drive 210, a solid state disk 2, which isa slave drive 220, and an Ethernet hub 230. In a preferred embodiment,the Ethernet 230 is a 4-port 10/100 base-T Ethernet hub. The Ethernethub 230 connects to the CPM1 100 and optionally CPM2 via networkconnection 238 and to other external systems via a connector interfaceJ7 in the backplane 10, as shown in FIG. 6. The MSM 200 also includes anIDE/ATA interface 236 which interfaces to the CPM module 100 through thebackplane 10. The IDE/ATA interface is also used for system maintenance.

Digital Processing Modules

The IDM 1 accommodates two DSP modules 400 and 500. The DSP modules 400and 500 interface with external communication equipment, such as CNRs(Combat Net Radios). The DSP1 module 500 communicates with the CPM 100via a synchronous port 148 provided by the RS-422A transceiver 98, andthe DSP2 module 400 communicates with the CPM 100 via synchronous port166 provided by the RS-422A transceiver 106. The synchronous ports 148and 166 are controlled by the 4-channel serial communications controller70 and 60 as shown in FIG. 5.

The usage of open architecture and Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS)software and hardware components of the IDM are of significant economicadvantage. Further, through the use of EPLDs to realize circuits andlogic providing customized functions for CPM, the IDM and its modulesare able to be designed to meet ruggedness requirement and light weightand dimensional constraints imposed by SEM-E form factor. In thepreferred embodiment described, two EPLDs are employed to providemultiple circuitry and logic. However, the number of EPLD used can be ofany number necessary to implement desired circuitry and logic, anddesired specialized data modem functions can be readily customized oneor more time by simply programming the EPLD. The EPLDs, which arenon-volatile devices, are preferable over volatile devices, such asSRAM-based Field Programmable Gate Arrays.

In this embodiment of the invention, non-volatile memory 42 is morepreferably a flash memory than a PROM. The advantage of flash memoryover PROM is that it is faster, in-circuit programmable, containssophisticated locking/unlocking protection algorithms, operates at lowervoltages, has higher memory density, smaller physical package. Thus,flash memory is more preferable.

The open architecture and standard interfaces, including IEEE-1394 andan IDE bus, enables the IDM to readily accept additional devices.

Another Embodiment of the IDM

Further to the embodiment of the IDM discussed in detail above, anotherembodiment of the IDM is shown in FIG. 14 and includes the PCM 300, aMass Storage Module (MSM) 2000, a Communication Processor Module (CPM)1400, an Input-Output Module (IOM) 2200, and slots 2300, all of whichare plugged into the backplane 10. This embodiment of the IDM shown inFIGS. 14-25 shares many identical features and functions with the firstembodiment of the IDM illustrated in FIGS. 1-13B. Therefore, onlyadditional features and different embodiments of the IDM are discussedbelow. Further, in the description provided below, the same referencenumerals are used to identify elements or components having the samestructure and function as those components in the previous embodiment.

The CPM 1400 in FIG. 14 is very similar to the CPM 100 in FIG. 1A theoriginal with the additional features that will be described below. Inthe embodiment of the IDM shown in FIG. 14, a single IOM module 2200replaces the DSP modules 400 and 500 of FIG. 1A. The MSM module 2000 inthis embodiment is essentially unchanged compared to the MSM module 200of FIG. 1A except for removal of the Ethernet Hub 230 shown in FIG. 6.The MSM module 2000 does not contain an Ethernet hub whereas the MSMmodule 200 does contain an Ethernet hub.

FIG. 15 illustrates the external interface of this embodiment of the IDMshown in FIG. 14, as compared to FIG. 1B which illustrated the externalelectrical interfaces of the IDM shown in FIG. 1A.

Communication Processor Module

The CPM 1400 is a microprocessor-based module that receives,synchronizes and transmits serial data via an internal Local AreaNetwork (LAN), serial interfaces, and a MIL-STD-1553B interface. The CPM1400 supports two synchronous interfaces and four asynchronousinterfaces. The CPM 1400 communicates with the IOM 2200, MSM 2000, andup to three additional PCI based modules that can be plugged into slots2300. The CPM 1400 maintains pin compatibility with the JCIT signal,power, and ground pins.

In the IDM of FIG. 14, there is a 4-channel serial communicationcontroller 60 that is preferably operable in a clockless mode. The4-channel serial communication controller 60 of the IDM of FIG. 14 issimilar to the serial communication controller 60 of the IDM of FIG. 1A.As mentioned above, such communication controller can be an Infineon®DSCC4 serial communication controller. Other DSCC4 controllers, such asthose of Siemens® may also be used.

Since the state machine inside the DSCC4 cannot be configured oroperated without an external clock, and the external radios interfacedto the synchronous communication port may or may not provide a clock insynchronous mode, a mechanism (e.g., a synchronous port fix) isimplemented to allow the configuration of the synchronous communicationports to effect synchronous communication.

As an alternative to the hardware synchronous communication port fix ofFIG. 9, another embodiment in FIG. 16 shows an alternate scheme for thesynchronous port fix multiplexer designed around analog switches. FIG.16 shows the synchronous port fix multiplexer consisting of an analogswitch 1780, an internal clock source 1784, an external clock source1782, a clock multiplexer select control 1786, and a selected clockoutput 1788.

In FIG. 16, the analog switch 1780 selects between two clocks, anexternal radio clock 1782 or a software generated internal clock 1784,via a clock select control signal 1786.

A different general purpose output pin on the DSCC4 is used as the clockmultiplexer control input 1786. During the configuration of the DSCC4synchronous port, the clock multiplexer control input 1786 selects thesoftware generated clock 1784. The analog switch 1780 now connects thesoftware generated clock 1784 to the DSCC4 clock input of the serialcommunication controllers 60 via 1788.

After the DSCC4 configuration and during normal operation, the clockmultiplexer control input 1786 selects the radio clock signal 1782. Theanalog switch 1780 now connects the radio clock 1782 to the DSCC4 clockinput of the serial communication controller 60 via 1788.

As previously mentioned, other serial communication controllers havingclockless mode and any number of channels may be used in place of the4-channel DSCC4 to provide more or less serial communication channels asneeded. However, the application of the synchronous port fix can beprovided in the same manner to effect synchronous serial communication.

Additional synchronous communication channels requiring the port fix isachieved through a plurality of circuits shown in FIG. 16, connectingthe signal interfaces to each synchronous communication channel.

The software generated clock is created by alternately writing 1's and0's to the general purpose output control register on the DSCC4 serialcommunication controller 60. The software generated clock frequency iscontrolled by the rate at which software writes the data to the generalpurpose output control register. The software generate clock is presenton the general purpose output pin. A plurality of software generatedclocks can be generated in this fashion by programming different bits inthe general purpose output register and using additional general purposeoutput pins on the DSCC4 60.

In another embodiment of the IDM of the invention, the programmableinterrupt controller (PIC) shown in FIG. 17 has an architecture thatincludes the following: 8 interrupt inputs with 1 interrupt output,positive and negative edge detect logic, a 16-bit read/write interruptmask register, and a 16-bit read/write interrupt pending or statusregister. The number of bits in the programmable interrupt controllercan be of any number as needed, preferably between 7 and 16 bits. FIG.17 illustrates a detailed block diagram of an 8-bit interrupt controllerwith edge detection of the present invention. FIG. 10B discussed aboveshows the other embodiment of the PIC.

The interrupt controller has the following characteristics: the 8interrupt inputs are asynchronous. Edge detection circuitry routespositive edge inputs to the upper 8-bits of the interrupt pendingregister and negative edge interrupts to the lower 8-bits of theinterrupt pending register.

A bit in the interrupt pending register is set to a logic 1 if thecorresponding input interrupt edge occurred. The interrupt pending isI/O mapped and is word readable/writable, and a pending interrupt iscleared by writing a logic 0 to the corresponding bit in the pendinginterrupt register.

The mask register is responsible for masking pending interrupts.Interrupts can be pending, non-pending, or cleared, independent of themask register settings. The interrupt is masked if a logic 1 is writtento the corresponding bit in the interrupt mask register, the interruptmask register is I/O mapped and is word readable/writable. The interruptpending register is preferably decoded at address 342HEX, and the maskregister is preferably decoded at I/O address 340HEX, as mentionedabove.

The interrupt output is asynchronous and has positive level output. Theinterrupt output occurs from a pending, unmasked interrupt. For example,the interrupt output can be a logic OR combination of all bits in thepending interrupt register which are ANDed with the invert of bits inthe interrupt mask register. If one or more pending interrupts areasserted (logic 1) then the interrupt output remains asserted (logic 1)if the associated interrupt is not masked.

As discussed above, the interrupt controller is reset by the watchdogsystem reset logic in EPLD1 40 via line 118, watchdog timer reset. Onreset, the mask register is set so that all interrupts are masked andthe interrupt pending register is cleared indicating no pendinginterrupts.

In an embodiment of the invention, Fault Latch Controller is used tomonitor/control the CPM's Pentium core and I/O voltages. The controlcircuitry acts and responds on hardware faults such as over-voltage,over-current, under-voltage, etc.

A regulator fault latch controller implementation is shown in FIG. 18. ALow Drop Out regulator (LDO) output voltage Vtt 1132, provides the I/Ogunning transistor logic (GTL) voltage to the Pentium processor andsupporting chipset. The purpose of the regulator fault hardware is toprovide a mechanism to restart the LDO 1124 in cases of faultconditions, such as over-current, over-voltage, or under-voltage on theVtt voltage 1132, or a fault on the Vcore voltage 1134. The Vcorevoltage provides the core voltage to the Pentium processor.

The circuitry shown in FIG. 18 is explained as follows:

DC-DC converter 1018 is responsible for converting +5V 1150 into a Vcorevoltage 1134. The LDO regulator 1124 converts +2.5V 1152 into a Vttvoltage 1132. A voltage supervisory circuit 1122 is used to monitor thecondition of the Vtt voltage. Capacitor 1126 is responsible for charginga threshold voltage used for fault detection on the Vtt voltage. APentium power good (PPG) signal 1140 is responsible for Vtt and/or Vcorevoltage faults. A core power good (CPG) signal 1138 is responsible forVcore voltage faults. The combined analog switch 1128, resistor 1130,and LDO switch signal 1136 are used for restart operation of the LDOafter a Vtt and/or Vcore voltage fault. EPLD1 40 contains the statemachine required to monitor/control the entire operation of the faultlatch implementation. The state machine timing is derived from theEPLD's main reference clock, such as a 14.31818 MHz clock. The powergood (PG) signal 132 is generated on the PCM module and indicates allsecondary system voltages are good.

Operation during normal power-up with no fault conditions is as follows:

PCM 300 generates good +2.5V 1152 and good +5V 1150;

PG signal 132 asserts and places the EPLD1 40 fault latch state machinein an IDLE state;

LDO switch signal 1136 remains deasserted keeping analog switch openallowing capacitor 1126 to charge;

DC-DC converter 1018 converts +5V 1150 into Vcore 1134;

CPG signal 1138 asserts since +5V 1150 and Vcore output 1134 are good;

LDO 1124 converts +2.5V 1152 into Vtt 1132;

LDO 1124 does not charge the capacitor 1126 under normal operatingconditions;

The voltage supervisory circuit 1122 asserts PPG 1140 since CPG 1134 andVtt voltage 1132 are good;

EPLD1 40 remains in IDLE state, senses good PPG signal 1140 indicatingno faults.

Operation during an over-current condition on Vtt 1132 is as follows:

PCM 300 generates good +2.5V 1152 and good +5V 1150;

PG signal 132 asserts and places the EPLD1 40 fault latch state machinein an IDLE state;

LDO switch signal 1136 remains deasserted keeping analog switch 1128open allowing capacitor 1126 to charge;

DC-DC converter 1018 converts +5V 1150 into Vcore 1134;

CPG signal 1138 asserts because +5V and Vcore output 1134 are good;

LDO 1124 converts +2.5V 1152 into Vtt 1132 but an over-current faultcondition now exists on Vtt 1132;

LDO 1124 senses Vtt over-current fault and begins charging the capacitor1126;

The voltage supervisory circuit 1122 asserts PPG 1140 since CPG 1138 andVtt voltage 1132 are good;

EPLD1 40 state machine remains in IDLE state, senses good PPG 1140signal indicating no faults;

Capacitor 1126 continues charging and reaches trip threshold voltage onLDO 1124;

LDO 1124 shuts off and Vtt 1132 drops to 0V;

The voltage supervisory circuit 1122 deasserts PPG 1140 since Vtt 1132voltage is bad;

EPLD1 40 advances to LDO Latch state and asserts LDO switch signal 1136for 1 ms;

Analog switch 1128 turns on causing capacitor 1126 to discharge throughresistor 1130;

LDO 1124 turns on when capacitor 1126 trip threshold voltage falls belowtrip point;

Analog switch 1128 turns off after 1 ms allowing capacitor 1126 torecharge if fault present;

EPLD1 40 state machine advances to LDO Wait state allowing 220 ms offault recovery time;

EPLD1 40 state machine returns to Idle state;

If PPG 1140 is deasserted, return to step [00216]; otherwise fault hascleared.

Operation during an over-voltage/under-voltage condition on Vtt is asfollows:

PCM 300 generates good +2.5V 1152 and good +5V 1150;

PG signal 132 asserts and places the EPLD1 40 fault latch state machinein an IDLE state;

LDO switch signal 1136 remains deasserted keeping analog switch openallowing capacitor to charge;

DC-DC converter 1018 converts +5V 1150 into Vcore 1134;

CPG signal 1138 asserts because +5V 1150 and Vcore output 1134 are good;

LDO 1124 converts +2.5V into Vtt 1132 but an over/under-voltage faultexists on Vtt;

LDO 1124 does not charge the capacitor 1126 because it has no over/undervoltage sensing;

The voltage supervisory circuit 1122 deasserts PPG 1140 since Vttvoltage 1132 is out of range;

EPLD1 40 advances to LDO Latch state and asserts LDO switch signal 1136for 1 ms;

Analog switch 1128 turns on causing capacitor 1126 to discharge throughresistor 1130;

LDO 1124 remains on since no charge exists on capacitor 1126;

Analog switch 1128 turns off after Ims allowing capacitor to recharge iffault present;

EPLD1 40 state machine advances to LDO Wait state allowing 220 ms offault recovery time;

EPLD1 40 state machine returns to Idle state;

If PPG 1140 is deasserted, return to step [00232] otherwise fault hascleared.

Operation during any fault conditions on Vcore is as follows:

PCM 300 generates good +2.5V 1152 and good +5V 1150;

PG signal 132 asserts and places the EPLD1 40 fault latch state machinein an IDLE state;

LDO switch signal 1136 remains deasserted keeping analog switch 1128open allowing capacitor 1126 to charge;

DC-DC converter 1018 converts +5V 1150 into Vcore 1134 but a faultcondition exists;

CPG signal 1138 deasserts because the Vcore output 1134 is bad;

LDO 1124 converts +2.5V 1152 into Vtt 1132;

The voltage supervisory circuit 1122 deasserts PPG 1140 since CPG 1138is deasserted;

EPLD1 40 advances to LDO Latch state and asserts LDO switch signal 1136for 1 ms;

Analog switch 1128 turns on causing capacitor 1126 to discharge throughresistor 1130;

LDO 1124 remains on since no charge exists on capacitor 1126;

Analog switch 1128 turns off after Ims allowing capacitor 1126 torecharge if fault present;

EPLD1 40 state machine advances to LDO Wait state allowing 220 ms offault recovery time;

EPLD1 40 state machine returns to Idle state;

If PPG1 140 is deasserted, return to step [00247] otherwise fault hascleared.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a local bus Reset Controller1900 shown in FIG. 19 provides the ability to reset individual modulesresiding on the local bus, such as a PCI bus, of the data modem.

The local bus Reset Controller 1900 is used to reset one or more modulesthrough a plurality of Local Bus Resets 1404 residing on the PCI Bus1406 in the IDM, as shown in FIG. 14. Each module would typically have awatchdog (WDOG) reset circuit to monitor the operational status of aparticular module. If a fault should occur on that module, such as ahardware or software fault, the WDOG circuit would reset that module inattempt for self-recovery.

Since the CPM 1400 is the PCI bus master in the IDM system, it isresponsible for configuration of all other PCI modules in the IDM. Ifanother PCI module, such as an IOM 2200, should experience a WDOG reset,the CPM 1400 would need to be informed so that it can correctlyreconfigure the IOM 2200.

A mechanism used to perform the reconfiguration is through the ‘resetinterrupt’ and ‘reset’. When the IOM 2200, for example, experiences aWDOG reset, it sends a reset interrupt to the CPM 1400. Then, it is theCPM's task to reconfigure the IOM 2200. Since the CPM 1400 does not knowthe state in which the IOM was in when it signaled the interrupt, thefirst task that the CPM performs is to reset the IOM 2200. The CPM 1400has the capability of resetting all other PCI modules, eitherindependently or simultaneously. Once the IOM 2200 is reset, and thestatus of the IOM 2200 is ready, the IOM 2200 would then release itsreset interrupt, signaling to the CPM 1400 that it is ready forreconfiguration. The CPM 1400 would then reconfigure the IOM 2200 viathe PCI bus.

Should the IOM 2200 generate another reset interrupt prior, during, orafter reconfiguration, the entire interrupt/reset/reconfigurationprocess would be repeated.

If the CPM 1400 should generate a WDOG reset, then the CPM 1400 alongwith all other PCI modules in the IDM would unconditionally andsimultaneously reset.

The Reset Controller 1900 provides 4 independent pulsed active low resetoutputs controllable by software and the system hardware reset.

FIG. 19 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the local bus resetcontroller 1900. The reset controller 1900 exists in the EPLD1 40 atpreferably I/O mapped address 0x346, word writeable, and self-clearing.Writing a ‘0’ to any of the register bits will not affect thecorresponding reset outputs. The reset pulse timing of 100 ms is derivedfrom the EPLD1's 40 main reference clock, such as a 14.31818 MHz clock.The number of bits in the software reset controller can be of any numberas needed, preferably between 4 and 16 bits. The length of the pulse canbe stretched if necessary. FIG. 19 illustrates a detailed block diagramof a 4-bit software reset controller 1900 of the present invention.

The reset controller 1900 operates as follows:

The assertion of the system hardware reset causes all reset outputs toassert and overrides the software control register.

When the hardware reset is de-asserted, the software reset controlregister can assert the reset outputs.

A reset output signal pulses low for 100 ms when a ‘1’ is written to thecorresponding bit in the software reset control register.

Once a ‘1’ is written and the reset pulse has occurred, thecorresponding bit will clear itself back to a ‘0’.

Power Down Interrupt for the CPM

In the event that the modem loses system power, a hold-up capacitor(1402), shown in FIG. 14, maintains input power to the PCM 300. The PCM300 detects a power fault and generates a power down interrupt to theCPM 1400.

The CPM EPLD1 40 secondary interrupt controller, shown in FIG. 18,receives a power-down interrupt input. If the power-down signal changesstate in either direction, the EPLD1 generates an interrupt to theProgrammable Interrupt Controller (PIC) embedded in the 82371EB PIIX4chip 32, which in turn interrupts the Pentium processor 20, which isshown in FIG. 3. The processor 20 is automatically vectored, via itsInterrupt Descriptor Table (IDT), to the IRQ6 handler. The interrupthandler routine scans the EPLD1 interrupt status and mask registers forpending, enabled interrupts, then calls the corresponding handlerroutine.

In this case a power-down interrupt handler is called to perform thefollowing actions: The IDM application is signaled that a power-downinterrupt has occurred in an operating system-dependent manner. Anapplication-level power-down interrupt thread is awakened, and itperforms writes to the file system of any critical volatile information(e.g., database updates). Then the application thread signals theoperating system to flush any file data buffered in RAM to the actualhardware disk device. Such synchronization is normally postponed by theoperating system until absolutely necessary for performance reasons.After the modem loses system power, the IDE flash disk 2020 on the MSM2000 detects a power loss and switches in an internal voltage holdupdevice, such as a capacitor, which keeps the IDE flash disk 2020 poweredfor an additional 30-seconds. The IDE flash disk 2020 then writes datain its volatile RAM cache to non-volatile flash memory for the durationof its internal power, reducing the need of the operating system to waiton the disk.

Input Output Module (IOM)

As previously mentioned, DSP modules 400 and 500 shown in FIG. 1A may bereplaced by a single IOM 2200 shown in FIG. 22 in another embodiment ofthe IDM. The IOM 2200 provides four half duplex communication channelsand transmits or receives ASK, CPFSK, FSK, or synchronous digital oneach channel under software control.

As shown in FIG. 22, the IOM 2200 utilizes industry standard DigitalSignal Processor (DSP) 2204, such as Texas Instruments TMSC320C6205 andthe like, and field programmable logic devices to provide variouscontrol circuits and logic. The IOM 2200 utilizes a PCI to PCI bridge2202, a four-channel communications controller 2206 for synchronous andasynchronous communication, and a two-channel communication UART 2207for asynchronous communications.

The IDM's CNR interface is implemented in the IOM 2200. A high-levelblock diagram of the IOM is provided in FIG. 22.

The IOM 2200 is dual-sided SemE module. One side of the IOM 2200, the Aside, contains the DSP 2204 and is associated support circuitry. Theother side, B, contains the physical CNR interface and signalacquisition circuitry.

The block diagram in FIG. 22 includes the logic for both sides. Side Blogic is shown in the bottom right corner enclosed a dashed line. Theremaining blocks shown are all on side A of the module. Side A containsthe DSP processor 2204, the PCI to PCI bridge 2202, the four channelcommunications controller 2206, the two channel asynchronouscommunications controller 2207, Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory(SRAM) 2205, three field programmable logic devices 2208, 2209, and2222, and various driver circuits.

The DSP processor 2204 provides the primary means in the IDM todynamically modulate and demodulate the I/O signals from the CNRinterface under software control. The DSP interfaces to an internal PCIbus 2203 which only resides on the A side of the board via an on chipPCI interface. PCI bus 2203 interconnects the DSP 2204, PCI to PCIbridge 2202, and the four-channel communications controller 2206. TheDSP 2204 utilizes the PCI interface to accept and execute operationinstructions from the CPM 1400. It also uses the PCI interface tocontrol, send and receive data to the four-channel communicationscontroller 2206. The DSP 2204 uses its memory interface to retrieve andstore instructions and data to and from the SDRAM 2205. The DSP 2204also interconnects with one of the field configurable devices 2209 andthe SDRAM 2205 via its memory bus 2210.

The DSP 2204 also uses the memory interface to communicate with thetwo-channel communications controller 2207 via one of the fieldprogrammable devices 2209. The field programmable device 2209 betweenthe DSP memory bus and the communication controller bus allows the todevice to control activity on the two-channel communications controllerdevice 2207 side of the bus 2211. This reduces power consumption andreduces emissions of unwanted electrical noise.

The DSP 2204 requires two different power inputs for operation. In theIDM the power inputs are controlled by custom designed power interfacecircuits rather than the industry standard Low Drop Out regulator (LDO).A block diagram of this logic is shown in FIG. 23. This technique isutilized to lower power consumption and gain explicit control of the DSP2204 and the SDRAM 2205 power inputs. Finite control of power to the DSP2204 and SDRAM 2205 allows the IDM to power down the DSP 2204 and SDRAM2205 during reset to resolve a design deficiency of the DSP 2204 withits DSP to SDRAM interface. If the SDRAM is directly connected to theDSP, as is standard industry practice, the DSP does not exit the resetstate correctly under all conditions. By powering down both devicesduring reset the DSP exits the reset state in the desired state. Thedescription of a power control circuit 2410 is referenced FIG. 24.

In FIG. 24, a portion of the power control circuit 2401 powers the 3.3Vinput on the TI DSP 2204 and the SDRAM 2205 when the reset input is notactive. Another portion of the logic 2414 powers the 1.5V power input tothe TI DSP 2204 when the reset is not active. When the reset is activethe 3.3V and 1.5V supply is shut off to the TI DSP 2204 and the SDRAM300.

The IOM 2200 utilizes a commercial four-channel communicationscontroller 2206 to implement its synchronous serial interface. Thedevice is controlled by the DSP 2204 via the PCI bus 2203. Thecontroller 2206 interfaces to the system input output pins via linedriver device for each of the four channels. Each output of the driversare connected to the corresponding ASK output drivers on the B side ofthe board via the backplane 10. The signals are shorted together on thebackplane 10 and routed to the IDM front panel for connection to outsideinterfaces. The signals from the A and B sides are shorted together toreduce the number of external device pins. The four-channelcommunications controller 2206 normally utilizes an external clocksource for initializing each of the four channels. In the IDMenvironment the external clock is not present until data is transmitted.To guarantee proper operation of the channels the IDM utilizes customdesign circuits to allow the IDM to source its own clock to initializethe communication channels. The logic is implemented in a fieldprogrammable logic device. The circuit routes an internally generatedsignal to the clock input normally driven by the external system.

The IOM 2200 utilizes a serial interface low side driver devices 2218,as shown in FIG. 22, to control the state of the various discreteoutputs of the IDM. The serial interface low side driver devices 2218 ispreferably a TI TPIC2603. The drivers 2218 are controlled by the DSP2204 via one of the field programmable devices, preferably the fieldprogrammable device 2209. The DSP 2204 controls the drivers 2218 byaccessing the drivers via its parallel memory bus 2210. The fieldprogrammable device 2209 accepts the parallel command and converts thedata to serial commands the drivers receive.

After power up the serial low side drivers 2218 do not initialize to aknown state. The IOM 2200 provides a method of resolving thisuncertainty by programming the devices at power up by utilizing ahardware state-machine embedded in the field programmable device 2209.This eliminates a delay between initial power up or system reset andwhen application software takes over control of the interface. Withoutthis additional logic the drivers initially set at an unknown state,this could have disastrous ramifications depending on the function ofinterconnected external interface.

A diagram of the aforementioned circuit is shown in FIG. 25 and isfurther described below. On power up the multiplexer circuit 2503selects the inputs from the clock/chip select source 2502. The signalsfrom the circuit 2502 are only active during reset. The signals arerouted through the multiplexer circuit 2503 into the low side driverdevice 2218. The clock/chip select circuit 2502 generates theappropriate timed signals for the low side driver device 2218 so as toload the driver with all zeros and force the outputs into the off state.

Once system reset is inactive the multiplexer circuit 2503 routes thesignals from the SRAM Based Programmable Logic Device 2209 to the lowside driver device 2218. The low side driver 2218 will stay in theprogrammed state waiting for the SRAM Based Programmable Logic Device2209 to be loaded also. At that point the SRAM Based Programmable LogicDevice 2209 will take control of the low side driver and program thedesired output states.

The IOM 2200 utilizes a watchdog timer circuit implemented in fieldprogrammable logic 2208. The watch dog timer circuit resets the IOM 2200if the software application code does not access the circuit within adefined amount of time. If the circuit is accessed by software at a ratefaster than the defined amount of time, then the circuit does not resetthe IOM 2200. This circuit reinitializes the IOM 2200 if the softwarestops executing.

The use of a watch dog timer circuit is standard industry practice,though normally the circuit is under total control of the hardware. Inthe IOM 2200 the watch dog time is started by a software action butcontinues under hardware control. Normally the watch dog timer startsautonomously under hardware control after the system is powered up. Thewatch dog timer in the CPM 100 operates in this manner, software has noway to enable or disable the timer. Once enabled the timer cannot bestopped by software. The software must periodically access the timerfast enough so as to prevent the IOM 2200 from being reinitialized.

A diagram of the watchdog circuit of the IOM 2200 is illustrated in FIG.23. As shown in FIG. 23, the heart of the watch dog timer circuit is ageneric digital counter 2303. The counter may be configured to count upor down, as it does not matter for the application. Once the counterreaches the predetermined count as determined by the terminal countdecoder 2306, a watch dog reset is generated to the desired logic. Thecounter 2303 is allowed to start counting once the software accesses thesoftware enable register 2301. Once enabled the software cannot disablethe counter 2303 operation. The enabled state is latched on until asystem reset is issued. Once enabled the counter 2303 counts up or downdepending on the design, as stated above. Periodically the softwareaccesses the software access register 2302. The action of accessing thisregister forces the counter to reset so it can not reach the terminalcount. As long as the terminal count is not reached a watchdog resetwill not be issued. If a system reset is issued the counter is reset viathe OR gate 2305, the software enable register 2301 is set to thedisable state and the software access register 2302 is reinitialized.

A detailed description of DSP 2204 SDRAM 2205 power control circuit isnow provided as follows: The circuit in FIG. 21 implements a powercontrol circuit that powers the DSP 2204 and the SDRAM 2205. Thiscircuit enables the power to be removed from the DSP 2204 and the SDRAM2205 during reset. If power is not removed from these two devices duringreset, the DSP does not exit in the correct user defined state. Byforcing the power off during reset, it forces the SDRAM 2135 to resetand eliminates potential contention issues on the data bus between thetwo devices.

The primary control signal of the circuit is the reset signal drivingthe control logic within EPLD 2208. When the reset is active the controlcircuit within EPLD 2208 activates the 1.5V and 3.3V shutdown outputs.The 1.5V shutdown output controls a low dropout voltage regulatorcontroller 2105, which in turn controls a transistor switch thatsupplies 1.5V to the voltage compare circuit 2120 and the core of theDSP 2204. The 3.3V shutdown output controls a FET switch circuit thatgates the 3.3V and generates the switched 3.3V that is distributed tothe DSP 2204 and the SDRAM 2135. When the reset input to the controllogic in EPLD 2208 is deactivated, the 1.5V shutdown output is toggledto the opposite state. This allows the low dropout voltage regulatorcontroller 2105 to drive the transistor switch logic circuit 2110 so itwill supply 1.5V to the DSP 2204. When the switched 1.5V signal goesabove 1.255V at the input of the voltage compare circuit 2120, itsignals to the control logic in EPLD 2208 that the 1.5V voltage iswithin range. The control logic in EPLD 2208 will then respond bydeactivating the 3.3V shutdown output to the FET switch circuit 2125.This action forces the FET switch circuit 2125 to turn on the 3.3V tothe DSP 2204 and SDRAM 2205. After a short delay the control circuitEPLD 2208 then deactivates the delayed reset output to the DSP 2204. Thedelay between powering 3.3V and releasing the delayed reset outputallows the DSP 2204 to be fully powered when the delayed resettransitions to the inactive state. If an error occurs at any time whenthe circuit is powering the DSP 2204 and SDRAM 2205 the 3.3V and 1.5Voutputs are turned off. An error occurs when either the voltage comparecircuit 2120 indicates the 1.5V output is below 1.255 volts or the FETswitch circuit 2125 signals a fault condition. The FET switch circuit2125 indicates a fault if its output current exceeds 1 amp.

The TI TPIC2603 Low Side Driver 2218 chip provides six outputs which cansink current into a load under software control through a serialinterface.

The DSP Interface EPLD 2209 shown in FIG. 22 is an SRAM based EPLD. Oneof its functions is to provide an interface between the TI TMS320C6205DSP 2204 and the low side driver 2218. Since DSP Interface EPLD 2209 isSRAM based, it must be loaded by the DSP 2204 after each power up orreset event. While the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 is unprogrammed, all ofits outputs are tri-stated, so no control signals are driven from theDSP Interface EPLD 2209 to the low side driver 2218.

The DSP 2204 uses a parallel interface to write data into internalLSD_CONFIG registers, not shown, residing in the DSP Interface EPLD 2209to enable or disable each low side driver output.

The DSP Interface EPLD 2209 includes a free running down counter with aclock rate divided down from the system clock to provide a serial clockfrequency of approximately 1 MHz. The low side driver requires eightrising clock edges while its chip select is active in order to clock inall the required data. Therefore a four bit modulo 9 counter is used,continuously counting from 8 to 0 at the serial clock frequency. Thecounter's most significant bit provides the active low chip select pulsewhile the counter is between 0 and 7, and disables chip select while thecounter equals 8. The rising edge of chip select latches the serial datainto the low side driver chip.

Data from the LSD_CONFIG registers is loaded into shift registers whilechip select is high, so any updates to the low side driver outputs willtake effect within 18 serial clock periods (18 microseconds at 1 MHz).

Initially, when utilizing the TI TPIC2603 as the low side driver, whichuses a serial interface to control its outputs, problems wereencountered. The low side driver chip has no external reset pin.Therefore, it relies on an internal power up reset monitoring the +5Vsupply pin to clear its internal registers. According to TexasInstruments, the reset window is very short, in the tens ofmicroseconds, and they were not able to supply information on the powersupply trigger voltage. The +5V supply on the IOM has a rise time ofwell over 100 milliseconds, so the IOM power may not be stable when thelow side driver chip performs its internal reset. This reset problem hasresulted in low side driver outputs being enabled randomly during somepower up conditions.

The serial interface is comprised of registers and logic contained inthe DSP Interface EPLD 2209, controlled by the DSP 2204 (i.e., TITMS320C6205). Since the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 is SRAM based, itsoutputs are tri-stated after power up until the EPLD is configured bythe DSP 2204. This configuration process can take a significant amountof time, up to about 90 seconds due to the bootup process of theoperating system. During this tirne, the randomly enabled low sidedriver outputs cannot be controlled, since the DSP 2204 and the DSPInterface EPLD 2209 are not yet operational.

The above-mentioned problems with respect to the TI TPIC2603 as the lowside driver 2218 are solved as follows:

It has been determined that a short period of randomly enabled low sidedriver outputs, less than 1 second, is acceptable in this IDMapplication.

The watchdog EPLD 2208 is a non-volatile EPLD which is normally onlyprogrammed once during initial testing in the factory. Since thisconfiguration is present at power up, the watchdog EPLD 2208 can be usedto provide control signals to the low side driver 2218 immediately afterpower up, as long as the outputs are not driven after the DSP InterfaceEPLD 2209 is configured.

The same circuit used in the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 was recreated inthe watchdog EPLD 2208, with two exceptions. First, the system clockused to derive the serial clock is running at a different frequency,requiring the clock divider circuitry to be slightly different, andproviding a slightly faster serial clock than that used on the watchdogEPLD 2208. Secondly, the chip select and clock signals are open drain,and only enabled while the system reset is low, thus ensuring nocontention will occur once the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 is programmed.

The data input signal on each low side driver chip 2218 is pulled downto ground through a resistor, ensuring that the serial data written tothe low side driver chips always turns off the outputs while the DSPInterface EPLD 2209 is unconfigured.

A delay counter of about 1.5 milliseconds was added from the fallingedge of system reset until the open drain low side driver chip selectand clock outputs are enabled. This was done to avoid contention betweenthe PLDs when the system is reset.

The above-presented solution to the problems provide the followingresults:

Anytime the IOM 2200 has a power up or other reset condition, thewatchdog EPLD 2208 will continuously send clock and chip select signalsto the low side driver, with the data input pulled down to effectivelywrite zeroes to the low side driver's internal configuration registers.This will last for the duration of the system reset pulse. The 10microsecond period required to write all registers ensures all low sidedriver outputs will clear during the reset pulse, which is at leastseveral milliseconds long.

There will be a delay of at least six milliseconds from system resetbecoming inactive until the DSP 2204 can begin to boot up and configurethe DSP Interface EPLD 2209, so there is no problem with contentionbetween the EPLD outputs.

Once the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 is configured, the DSP 2204 willcontrol the low side driver outputs by writing into registers inside theEPLD 2209, which are shifted out to the low side driver 2218 based onits serial clock rate.

If a system reset occurs, the DSP Interface EPLD 2209 will immediatelytri-state its outputs, and a 1.5 millisecond delay will occur before thewatchdog EPLD 2208 begins driving the low side driver clock and chipselect outputs. This was done to avoid contention while the DSPInterface EPLD 2209 is turning off and the watchdog EPLD 2208 is turningon.

Input/Output Module (IOM) Side B

The Analog and Mixed-Signal portion of the IOM 2200 reside on side B ofthe IOM 2200, as shown within the dotted Analog Side box in FIG. 22.Side B also contains some digital circuits including: a custom designedEPLD 2222, high speed Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS)interface 2224 to the DSP on side A, and Radio Control and Status I/O2230.

Analog Section

The analog/mixed-signal portion, encompassing blocks 2226 and 2228, isphysically and electrically isolated from the digital portion, usingsplit/isolated Power and Ground Planes, to improve digital noiserejection. This portion is comprised of four similar channels. Each ofthe four channels is designed to handle a number of selectable input andoutputs as follows:

Inputs for each channel: ASK, HiZ, FSK-150, FSK-600, ASK-Test andFSK-Test.

Outputs for each channel: ASK and FSK.

Channel Codec

The Codec 2226, preferably a AD73311L, which is used in each channel isa mixed-signal device integrating most functions of analog-to-digitalsignal acquisition and vice-versa. It is controlled by the DSP 2204 viathe Analog Interface EPLD 2222. Like most Codecs on the market, this oneis aimed at voice or low-data-rate application, without provision foractive Bit-Sync tracking (via sampling-phase adjustment) which couldpotentially enhance performance. The advantages of using this device arelow power, compact size and integrated features.

In the IDM, a unique and novel method has been devised that allowssampling-phase adjustment with the AD73311L or other Codecs that lacksuch a feature. The method is based on a temporary change of theMaster-Clock (MCLK) rate supplied to the Codec. Since the Codec samplingrate is derived from MCLK, this temporary change translates into a shiftin sampling phase without adverse effect on other parameters.

The acquired input signal, in digital form, is delivered to the DSP 2204via the Analog Interface EPLD 2222, which combines all four channelsonto one serial interface. Similarly, on the output side, the DSP 2204delivers the digital form of the desired output signals and the analoginterface EPLD 2222 separates these to the individual serial Codecinterfaces.

ASK/FSK Channel Inputs

The ASK/FSK Channel Inputs 2228, not shown, have a unique differentialstructure that eliminates the use of bulky transformers while retainingthe advantages of differential signal handling with respect tosystem-ground mismatch, noisy ground and common-mode noise. Inputs areprotected against electrostatic discharge, and are selected by adifferential multiplexer. A single differential gain stage handles allinput signal levels, even those exceeding the power rails, and adjuststhe signal to appropriate level by adjusting its dual digitalpotentiometers, under DSP control, while maintaining the differentialmode.

Following the ASK/FSK input state is another unique stage that combinesa Difference-Amplifier with Reference-Level-Shift andActive-DC-Offset-Cancellation (the latter under DSP control of a digitalpotentiometer). The resulting signal is optimally centered at thereference level used by the Codec 2226 device serving the channel. Thesignal is further processed by a low-pass digital filter, to enhanceanti-aliasing at the Codec's input.

ASK/FSK Channel Outputs (2228)

For each channel, the Codec's differential output is converted to asingle-ended signal and level-shifted to 0V using a single differenceamplifier (not shown). The signal is then attenuated by a digitalpotentiometer, under DSP control, and fed to a selectable-gain outputamplifier.

Analog switches, under DSP control, are employed to route the amplifiedsignal either to the ASK output or to the FSK output-transformer. Theseoutputs are also looped back to the ASK-Test and FSK-Test inputs ofanother channel for Built-In-Test purposes.

The FSK-Output 2228 employs a unique user-selectable output impedance.For legacy reasons the output impedance is rather low (32 ohms), butother users may require a higher impedance when the output is idle. Bychanging the source-termination of the output-transformer, under DSPcontrol, the user selects the FSK output impedance (32 ohms or greaterthan 150 ohms)

Analog Interface EPLD

The analog interface EPLD 2222 on side-B of the IOM 2200 is the gatewaybetween the DSP processor 2204 and the analog/mixed-signal subsystem.This EPLD 2222 interfaces to the DSP 2204 two serial ports via the LVDS2224 devices. One serial port is dedicated to the transfer of messagedata to and from the four channel Codecs 2226, while the other port isused for controlling channel and Codec setup.

The innovation in this design is in the way the four channel Codecs 2226interface to the DSP 2204. Normally, multiple AD73311L or similar codecswould be connected serially to the DSP's serial port, while sharing thesame Master Clock, which is necessary to ensure that all codecs sharethe same serial data rate. In this design a different approach isnecessary since the Master Clock to each Codec is varied in order toshift the sampling phase; this creates varying serial data rates out ofthe Codecs and precludes connecting them in series to one DSP port.

On a basic level, the EPLD 2222 is used to multiplex the receive-sampledata from the four Codecs onto one serial bus, and de-mux the transmitdata from one to four individual serial streams, but with an importantmodification aimed at preserving data-integrity. Since data rates fromthe Codecs vary, the EPLD 2222 collects data from all four channels, andtransfers a multi-channel-word to the DSP, at a fixed frame rate that ishigher than the maximum Codec data frame rate. Additionally, it isrecognized that this will give rise to repeated data on the DSP side;thus each channel data is tagged as “fresh” the first time it is addedto the DSP stream and “stale” on a subsequent appearance, until it isreplaced by fresh data from the same Codec. To achieve this goal, theMSB tag bit, which is already built into the Codec data word (in MixedMode only) and used to differentiate data from control words, isutilized. Since in the architecture of the IOM 2200 data and control areseparated into different serial streams to the DSP 2204, the MSB tag bitcan be appropriated for another use, to signify freshness, without lossof data bits or adding overhead to the serial stream.

As mentioned above, the Codec 2226 allows mixed-mode operation, whereboth data and control are used over the Codec's serial interface,differentiated by the MSB bit-tag.

The EPLD 2222 diverts control words to/from each Codec onto the secondDSP serial port, dedicated to control, which simplifies the softwarehandling in the DSP 2204. Other channel setup and control needs areserved by the same interface; these include digital-potentiometers usedto control signal levels, and analog switches used to controlconnectivity.

Another function implemented in the EPLD 2222 is the generation of thevarying MCLK signals, under DSP control, for the four channel Codecs2226. A high frequency clock, is divided by 8 to yield the nominal MCLKrate for each Codec. When a sampling phase shift is indicated for aparticular channel, the division factor for that MCLK is modified up ordown as appropriate (7 or 9) for a temporary period, then returned tothe nominal rate.

The EPLD 2222 is configured by the DSP 2204 after power-up, in tandemwith the EPLD 2209 of side-A, using the data and clock lines of DSPSerial Port 0. The same port is later used for data transfer.

Radio Control & Status (2230)

Some external radio control lines are served on side-B, all of them ESDprotected.

Inputs include (one each per channel): CREW- PTT, TX-GATE and SPARE-IN.

Outputs are GSIP-PTT (one each per channel).

Another Embodiment of the Mass Storage Module (MSM)

As mentioned above, another embodiment of the MSM 200 of the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 20 as the MSM 2000. The MSM 2000interfaces to the CPM 1400 through the IDE bus 2002 via the back plane10 in FIG. 2. The MSM 2000 is designed using an interposer approach,wherein the interposer provides a mechanism to accommodate the variousIDE form factors, such as 1.8 in, 2.5 in., 3.3 in, and futuresolid-state devices as technology emerges, all without the need toredesign the backplane 10. The MSM 2000 houses a solid-state disk, whichis a master IDE drive 2020.

The MSM 2000 provides a data retention feature to preserve data in thecase of power faults and a disk wipe feature for the removal ofsensitive information. The IDE/ATA interface is also used for systemmaintenance.

As mentioned previously, a difference between the MSM 2000 and the MSM200 is that the Ethernet hub has been removed from the MSM 2000.

The IDM of the present invention in the above-described embodiments iscapable of executing Embedded Battle Command (EBC) application softwaresimultaneously with the IDM Operational Flight Plan/Program (OFP). TheOFP transfers received Over-the-air and MIL-STD-1553B messages to theEBC application software and receives data from the EBC applicationsoftware for MIL-STD-1553B transmission.

The standard BIOS and sophisticated patches coupled with an externallystrapped boot mode allow the CPM to boot in a number of different modesto accommodate the requirements of the vehicle or platform into which itis installed. Further, the BIOS and patches of the present inventionprovide a high degree of fault tolerance by enabling the IDM tosuccessfully boot and operates on a backup operating system whennecessary.

The x86-based architecture of the CPM, housed within the IDM, allows theIDM to host almost any application written for a PC in an embeddedenvironment lacking standard I/O capabilities, such as a keyboard and adisplay monitor. This capability is currently being exploited to allowmilitary-based applications to be hosted within the IDM in addition tothe current IDM communication functions.

Only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and but a fewexamples of its versatility are shown and described in the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that the present invention is capableof use in various combinations and environment and is capable of changesor modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressedherein.

1. A data modem having an Input Output Module (IOM), wherein the IOMcomprising: a digital portion and an analog portion; the digital portioncomprises: a digital signal processor (DSP); a SDRAM bank connected tothe DSP via an External Memory Interface (EMIF) bus; a DSP-interfaceField Programmable Logic Device (FPLD) interfaced to the DSP via theEMIF bus; a watchdog implemented in a field programmable logic device; alow-side driver interfaced to the DSP-interfaced FPLD, theDSP-interfaced FPLD including a multiplexer, controlled by a systemreset, allowing signals to be routed to the low-side driver before theDSP-interface FPLD is loaded with operational code; and Low VoltageDifferential Signaling (LVDS) drivers/receivers.
 2. The claim 1, whereinthe analog portion comprises: an Analog-Interface Field ProgrammableLogic Device (FPLD) connected to the LVDS drivers/receivers; CODECS andanalog circuitry connected to the analog-Interface FPLD; ASK/FSK radioinput/output circuits coupled to the CODECS and analog circuitry; andradio control and status inputs/outputs coupled to the Analog-InterfaceFPLD.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The IOM of claim 1, wherein the watchdogcomprises a counter and an associated software-accessible register, andwherein the watchdog is initialized by a software and operates underhardware control.
 5. The IOM of claim 4, wherein the software-accessibleregister is accessed by periodically the software so as to reset thecounter and to prevent the counter from reaching a terminal count duringnormal operation, and wherein the IOM is reset if the terminal count isreached.
 6. The IDM of claim 1, wherein power is removed from the DSPand the SDRAM during a reset so as to force the SDRAM to reset and toallow the interface between the DSP and the SDRAM to operate properly.7. The IOM of claim 1, wherein, using the multiplexer, the low-sidedriver is initialized before the DSP-interfaced FPLD is loaded withoperational code.
 8. The IOM of claim 2, further comprises a masterclock connected to the CODECS, wherein a sampling phase of the CODECS isadjustable by increasing or decreasing the frequency of the master clockthereby effecting a shift in the sampling phase.